Painting Bases...

[Mary and Ryan]

I want to paint some of my Aristocrat Bases and Caps. Any ideas for paint or methods? I've never done this before. I want to do a black of some kind... preferably glossy. I heard car paint works well? Any ideas? I need some direction before I go messing stuff up!

[Arne]

car paint works. you need: sandpaper (600 if you dont have to remove any old paint.), primer for metal, a can of high gloss black car paint (motip works well for me), clear coat high gloss. the cheap will work, I pay 7€ for 500ml.
disesemble and clean the bases, sand it off completely, leave no spots behind, feel if its smooth or if it need further treatment.
apply the primer starting wirh the edges. spray from a distance of about 30 cm (12inch) untill you have a more or less even coat on the base and also from above and below so you cover the edges. remove from where the bottle sits as long as its not dry or be careful not to get it there in the first place.
the same way you will apply the black paint. dont get out of patience, you dont want to spray a thick layer until its all black, to get a really glossy base you will want to do several coats which just begin to cover and form a comtinuous coat after like you've been around with the can the 5th or 10th time.
it will look shit first, and its a bit trial and error but just look at a video on youtube on spraypainting with cans and you will get an idea of what happens. you dont want too much paint on there coz its gonna drip eventually so you need it to dry a little bit every time and the gloss effect comes later.
I suggest to put the lower base part over your hand and after painting you can hold it upside down or however it needs to be held in order to prevent dripping and uneven parts.
any further questions? just ask...
oh and please get a mask!!! te one for about 50bucks and gloves n stuff.
as soon as you glove looks like this you should be able to spraypaint like a pro ;)

[Arne]

btw same with clear coat. many thin layers and not too much at a time. wind is killing the gloss, do it where its not windy or cold. dont get too close with the can or you will get blind spots with bubbles inside. looks shit and is a pain in the ass to remove coz you need to sand down the whole fucking coat to the very beginning of the bubble to make it unseen.

[Jim]

Mary and Ryan - pick and choose how far you want to go with this. Arne has demonstrated extreme skill with his painting talent. Maybe you are up for that, maybe not. I have painted a few bases as well, but very simplistically. The end results are still super duper nice. I say this to not steer you away from Arne's approach, but rather to give you alternatives if you want to "dabble" in painting a base prior to going all in. You can still get excellent results with a simple can of Rustoleum; not nearly as nice as what Arne is doing ( to Arne), but still quite nice. This will be more to whet your appetite on painting bases, whereas Arne has taken it to a whole new level.

I might also recommend trying your skills on a China base first. Why ruin an Aristocrat base which comes from the factory with a certain level of elegance?

Here is my write up for painting a base - http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/painting-lava-lamp-bases

[Mary and Ryan]

Thanks guys! All good ideas!

[Arne]

rather practical advise...ideas are required when doing shapes n colours ;)